This Bud’s For You – Hemp Finally Gains Mainstream Acceptance

While hemp has been around since the beginning of time, it’s only been the past couple of years that the “miracle” plant is gaining mainstream acceptance and use.

The plant goes back to the beginning of time but in the United States it is often confused with its cousin the marijuana plant, which has been romanticized by its counter culture appeal because of it’s psychoactive affects thanks to the chemical THC. Hemp has many industrial uses and with a THC of less than .3 percent has no psychoactive properties. Hemp as a plant for generations is like a miracle plant as it has been used to make paper, building material, rope and clothing. Many may not realize that during World War II many uniforms were made with hemp.

Because of its association with marijuana in 1970 it became illegal to grow hemp without a permit. With a number of states legalizing marijuana, interest in the hemp plant has seen resurgence within the past ten years. As of 2015 hemp sales amounted to over $600 million dollars. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 changed hemp from a controlled substance to an agricultural commodity, legalizing hemp federally, thus making it easier for farmers to get productions licenses, get loans to grow hemp and get federal crop insurance.

Why all the buzz about hemp now? That’s because of the cannabidiol (CBD) found in the hemp plant. CBD has holistic properties that seem like a miracle organic fix-all for a lot of ailments in the human bodies. There have been documents studies with its help in reducing and in some cases ending epileptic seizures. Infused into oils and topical treatments as well as edibles, there has been documented proof CBD can aid in anxiety and pain. Many claim it can cure anything.

One of those seeing the benefits of CBD infused products as well as the flowers themselves is Dewayne Madden. Madden, a pioneer of sorts in the greater Chattanooga area was the first to open a hemp retail store selling products infused with CBD – everything from drops, patches, lotions, edibles, he opened his store on the Northshore 18 months ago.

“I was looking at getting in the cannabis industry and there wasn’t any real feasible options to move out west were the laws are a little bit more liberal, so I started to look at what was available in Tennessee and did a local event, ‘Hemp History Week’ that was put on by a small group of local hemp advocates and was held at the Edney Building,” recalls Madden. While attending the event he met a lot of local Tennessee farmers where he first got introduced to the Tennessee grown products. “After talking to the vendors at the event and seeing they all had these products but there was nowhere distributing them I aw the need for a brick and mortar store and that’s where the idea of Hemp House was born.”

Chattanooga being a traditionally conservative town one would have thought there were a lot of headaches as Madden got his business together. “Actually, not at all,” Madden says. “Chattanooga was pretty awesome.”

Madden’s biggest headaches getting Hemp House was just the typical business opening headaches including finding a legit credit card processor. Reception from local authorities has been awesome he said. “We reached out to the local police chief, David Roddy upon opening and invited his staff to our store, which they have come in multiple times and some of them came back and shopped around,” he says. “As far as Chattanooga being receptive it’s been an amazing experience as far as opening a cannabis-based business.”

With hemp a hot commodity these days, even in Chattanooga with other hemp stores opening and others add the product to their shelves. Many places online describe hemp as a “cure all, but how much is fact and hype? It’s hard to say,” says Madden.

What Madden learned is the human body has an endocannabinoid system and is built with receptors that are made to receive cannabinoids. That includes CBD, CBG, CBN, THC and a long, long list of others. The human body is built to receive these cannabinoids and so the reason that it feels like CBD fixes all of one’s ailments is because our system was actually, in fact deficient and once you replenish those receptors with the proper cannabinoids everything starts feeling good again. “You feel like essentially all has been fixed,” he says. “There are definitely people that say it’s taken care of everything.”

There are others that say it isn’t working but like any medication of “cure all” that goes with the territory as not everyone reacts the same to anything. “It’s not going to work for everybody and it’s not going to fix everybody’s everything,” says Madden. Madden and his staff do individual assessments of the people to see what they’re looking for or what they’re hoping to achieve with CBD and try to recommend the best product they think will help them out.

There was more to opening Hemp House than just putting product on the shelf and opening the doors. Madden stays connected with his local farmers were he purchases his product directly from. “We stay away from some of the bigger companies that send in sales reps and you’ve got distributors for this region and all that,” he says. “They can tell you their stuff is grown here and all that but those are just words that really that’s all they are for me. We make sure we visit our farmers.”

Madden is very involved with the process from planting to the processing of CBD. “It’s definitely a task to make sure what you’re putting on your shelf is a quality product and working with these small Tennessee farmers who produce small batches I feel gets us the best quality control out there,” he says.

Quality control is of utmost importance. The best thing Madden says he found to do was third party testing, which he says should be industry standard. “If you are purchasing a product – especially from my standpoint – if you’re purchasing it to resell it out you absolutely have to have that third party testing,” he says. Madden says he also sends off some of his products to make sure the test results that the test results he was given by the farmers is exactly aligned with what he’s showing on his shelf. “We don’t purchase from anyone that’s not offering COAs (certificate of authenticity) and another thing I said is we work side by side with these farmers. We visit them, we’re there when they’re cutting their plants,” he says. “We’re helping them trim it. We are fully involved with it as much as the farmers will allow us to be and that third party testing just comes along with it.”

Things are very hands on for Madden and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’m not a guy who’s going to go out – I could make bulk purchases, put them on a shelf with a high price tag and make tons of money,” he says. “That doesn’t seem to be really hard to do.”

Madden says he loves being hands on, knowing whatever role he plays – be it store owner with a shelf or helping a farmer trim or help harvest some plants, he believes his role is literally going to help someone better their self and better their life.

Despite its mainstream popularity and acceptance there is often a common misconception of who comes through the doors of a place like Hemp House. Madden says all ages filter through the business on a daily basis, but most customers fall into the Baby Boomer generation. “Anyone 55 and up is kind of who we’re seeing the most coming in the store, he says. “They’re the ones that have lived life and the aches and pains.”

“When I opened up I assumed like a lot of people I think that we’d have a bunch of my friends in there – the tie-dyed hippie looking people that are just trying to smoke a doobie or whatever it is, but it’s not been that at all,” Madden recalls. There is very little of that in his store he says. He’s been extremely surprised that nearly 95 percent of his customer base legitimately comes in looking for a product to better their health. “. I think that’s what the primary benefit for CBD is.”

Besides topicals and edibles Hemp House started carrying the hemp flower a few months ago. “Most of the people know how to use the product, Madden says. The hemp flower’s been a pretty good addition he says. It was something they brought on once customers started asking for it. “A lot of people take it home and infuse their own edibles,” he says. “I always liked that.”

Madden says he likes to hear customers telling him what they’re using the flower for rather than just smoking it, which he says is probably the least healthy way to use the product. While the product looks and smells like its cousin marijuana a Tennessee state bill allows sale of the flowers since they are under .3 percent THC making it non- psychoactive. He admits he keeps the flowers a bit hidden from his older customers who don’t want to see or be exposed to it. “Here we are promoting education so we’ll take the time to explain to anybody exactly what it is, why we have it and what it’s good for.”

For the most part everything at Hemp House has been geared pretty well with the medicinal side like tinctures and vapes Madden says. What he likes seeing is all the edibles coming available and all the different creations people come up with. The edibles are guilt-free since the consumer doesn’t have to worry about a “head high”. “You can eat the whole gummy bear or eat the whole truffle or the whole chocolate bar,” he says. “You don’t have to be worried about being laid out versus if you get a THC edible where one bite could be half a bite too many depending on that.”

The topicals, Madden says have been a surprise best seller as people are getting a lot of relief from using them. “We’ve know about the tinctures,” he says. “They’ve been around 1500s/1600s – I have no idea, but they’ve been around forever,” he says. “People are getting creative with the active/inactive ingredients that go along with that and help aid the CBD benefit.”

As other retailers pop up and online sellers of hemp and CBD infused products continue to grow, many consider Madden kind of a pioneer in the hemp industry at least locally. “I definitely feel that way about Hemp House, he says. “I like if we’re being viewed as the pioneers of it that I put enough pressure on us to make sure we’re kept to a higher standard, but obviously if people are looking for us in that manner that is always hanging over you.”

Madden wants Hemp House and his staff to be perceived in the best possible manner which is trying to provide good education, good quality products and want to be the place people come to as they grow and expand. “We hope that anyone else looking to be in the industry to look at the way we’re doing it and let us be the industry standard about how things should be done and the proper way to get CBD out to the community.”

With hemp’s growing popularity Madden is happy to see other retailers coming into the market. “Competition is always healthy,” he says. “There’s room for everybody in the industry. We just hope that everyone is getting in the industry for the right reasons, which is to truly help people and not cash in or take advantage.”

Business has been great all over for the hemp industry and that includes Hemp House. Madden recently opened a second location in Knoxville that is doing great and later this spring he will be opening a Hemp House in East Ridge.

With a year and a half under his belt and opening new locations Madden has been humbled by the awesome reception he and the store have received from the community and their customers. “I am truly excited to get up every day and come to work. Monday mornings are not that bad for me”, he gushes. “I know that in some way I’m going to make a difference in somebody’s life throughout the day.”